Ghosts and Spider lead Revival sale

A pair of early Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts and a rare Ferrari Daytona Spider helped Bonhams rake in a strong £4.62m at its Goodwood Revival auction on 16 September, despite the sale house’s failure to shift its star lots.

Bidding on the ex-Sir Robert Ropner ‘Semi-Lightweight’ 1964 Jaguar E-type (below) and a 1958 Lister-Jaguar 'Knobbly' – as campaigned by US race privateer Briggs Cunningham's team – stalled at £1.35m and £760,000 respectively at the Chichester circuit auction.

Also stopping short of its reserve was another saleroom attraction: the 1931 Avions Voisin C14 ‘Chatre’ (below), which remained unsold after the final bid on the Art Deco beauty was still £50,000 short of its £250-300,000 estimate.

But there was decidedly more interest in the early Rolls-Royces at the annual fixture: a 1908 Silver Ghost – one of a mere four survivors from that year – sold for £485,500 after a protracted bidding battle and a 1911 former Indian royalty ceremonial car made £419,500.

The latter car was ordered for the Delhi Durbar celebration of the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary, 100 years ago, before it passed to the Maharaja of Mysore.

Other standout results included the £595,500 taken for the 1971 Ferrari 365GTS/4 – one of just 25 open top variants to European specification – and the £34,300-over-top-estimate £164,300 paid for a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GT (below).

Also busting its estimate spectacularly was a 1960 AC Ace Bristol from a deceased estate and which had been in the same hands since 1960; it crossed the block for £141,200 against a realistic £80-100,000 guide price. Bonhams wasn't as fortunate with a 1958 AC-engined example that had been expected to sell for £90-110,000, which remained unsold at £70,000.

Commanding plenty of interest was a1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight that found a new owner for a record (for a right-hand-drive example) £221,500, while a 1976 Lamborghini Countach LP400 just cracked lower estimate at £166,500.

Another couple of benchmark cars that were on the money included a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing that made £342,500 and a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 entered by a member of Irish pop group Westlife. It made £5500 more, 25 lots later.

Not quite as buoyant was the £80,700 paid for the 1964 RAC Rally-winning Mini Cooper (above). The 1964 Morris – which was driven to victory by Rauno Aaltonen – had been expected to make £80-100,000, less than it changed hands for at Bonhams’ Stoneleigh sale four years ago.

Rarer consignments included a bespoke, Hooper-bodied 1988 Bentley Turbo R Empress (above) that sold for £49,900 against a £35-40,000 prediction and a 1965 Gordon-Keeble GK1 (one of 99 built, below) that made £28,750 (estimate £27-32,000).